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Sometimes I wonder if I am truly insane when it comes to athletic commitments.  This past Sunday was a good example.  Thanks to the generosity of my employer, I was able to skip the lottery system and join a corporate team for the 2013 Broad Street Run.  Heading into this race, I will admit a I skirted a lot of my training.  I was playing soccer regularly, and ran here and there, but didn’t dedicate the time I had to previous races.  I also decided to register for the Scoring Goals for Autism charity soccer tournament with my women’s team.  This was the same day.  Hence why I wonder if I am nuts.    Anyway…

I have to say I totally forgot the feeling of race day jitters and excitement.  It became even more evident when we got to our corral location and I saw just how many fricken people do this race.  It was my first time running it and I was blown away by the sheer size of the crowds.

Doesn’t even begin to do it justice.  As we waited for the start of the race, there were various announcements from key race coordinators, then Mayor Nutter took to the mic and even played a speech from the mayor of Boston.  It was awesome how touching the whole pre-start was.  I felt pretty ready and was sporting some sweet socks for Boston (paired with a donation to One Fund, I’m no slacktivist).

Apparently I have a wonky eye.

Milk wasn’t a bad choice (my pre-race meal was a green monster smoothie), but I’d later learn these shoes would be, but more on that soon.

After six rounds of “Sweet Caroline” the corral was finally on the move and I was off!  It was pretty chilly so for the first few miles I just tried to maintain a decent pace.  My Garmin showed I was averaging around 8:15 miles which didn’t feel very fast and I was semi-hopeful I’d be keeping that pace throughout.  Running down Broad Street with a sea of people was epic.  The entire view you just see this massive wave ahead.  It’s pretty fantastic.

The crowds were also incredible.  I did the Rock’n’Roll half before which went through part of the city, but not through nearly as many neighborhood regions as this race does.  And for the first half of the race you have City Hall in your sights, getting closer as you make each mile go by.  I know, I’m being cheesy but it made me just love Philly all the more.  Once I got to mile 5, I was feeling a little fatigued but not too bad.  Passing City Hall I saw a sign someone was holding up that said “Worst Parade Ever” and couldn’t help to laugh.  Mile 6.5-7 was where it all started slipping.  Remember those lovely yellow shoes?  Yeah, bad idea.  I had worn them on plenty of runs, but none as far as 10 mi and they just didn’t have the support I needed.  My ankles started getting progressively more sore, and then my arches joined in.  I spent the last threeish miles alternating between slow running and a few walk breaks.  I decided my finish would not be glorious, but I’d complete it.  I managed a smile and double thumbs up for the pre-finishing shot, and felt relieved when I was done.  I made my way to our post-race tailgate spot after shuffling through the long water/food area lines and enjoyed the beer the started my IPA love.

Ahhhh!  It felt good to be done and off my feet for a bit.  My official time was 1:34:43, not terrible for a half-assed training period and poor shoe choice.  Being my first time, I can’t wait to beat this at the next one.  My day wasn’t over though.  I somehow managed a nap, then hauled my tired, old ass to YSC for our soccer tournament.  My team had enough people that we registered for the A and B leagues.  Our A team rocked it, and I was happy we played at different times so we could watch and cheer each other.

I didn’t play my best level (clearly) but had a blast doing it and was raised well over $1000 for autism research.  The A team won the whole thing, and my team finished second with only one loss in the three rounds.  The prize was growler fills at Baggataway Tavern in Conshohocken (had I known sooner!) and it was decided both A and B teams would enjoy together since the effort as a whole came from all of us.

So even though my legs took the biggest beating of my life in a single day, I went to bed quite tired and happy.  I’d do it all again (with better training) if given the chance.